The Convergence
by firenzestark
Summary: What happens when two worlds which didn't know each other existed (or did they?) come together? (Set after Avengers Age of Ultron (Tag says Avengers as Avengers 2 was not available) and 2 years before the '19 years later' part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) This is my very first story so please be kind enough to motivate me through reviews if you like it.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Marvel or Harry Potter characters. I do not gain anything from the following story except quenching my own fanboy thirst.**

This story is set after the Avengers: Age of Ultron as far as Marvel is concerned and 2 years before the '19 years later' part of Harry Potter. I have tried to stick to canon information as much as I could however I apologize for any mistakes. Please review the story. Thanks

 _ **Chapter 1**_

The cold wind blew through the grounds of the Hogwarts castle. It was calm and silent. Lights emanated from a couple of towers of the castle, the rest being dark. In a corner of the grounds was a collection of greenhouses or the greenhouse tower as people called it. Lights glowed through the windows of a small cabin next to the main greenhouse. On its door were the words 'Prof. Longbottom'.

Inside the cabin, two people were seated. One was a man in his mid thirties. He sat at his desk on a wooden chair. His feet were rested on the desk and he held a book in his hand. His eyes slowly traveled from one end of the book to the other. The only occasional sound he made was when he turned the page of the book roughly every five minutes or when he yawned. He wore a scarf of colors scarlet and gold and wore a woolen cap with a lion knitted on to it.

The other occupant was a young boy, almost eleven years of age. He was seated across the man and bent over a sheet of paper. His hands held a pen and he yawned as he wrote the words 'I will not break into the Potions master's vault' again and again. The scratching of the boy's pen against the paper was the only sound that filled the cabin other than the Professor's occasional yawn and turning of the page.

It wasn't long before the clock struck eleven. The boy looked at the clock and sighed. The gong of eleven meant one thing to him right now- another hour of detention more to go. He looked at the man and let out a deep sigh. "Neville?" He called out meekly.

The man looked up at him with a deep frown on his face. "I mean, Professor Longbottom." The boy quickly corrected himself but it didn't help with the frown on the Professor's face. "Yes James, what is it?" He asked closing his book and removing his reading glasses from his face.

The boy let out another deep sigh. "I am tired and I am sleepy. Can I go to bed?" He asked making a face that would have made anyone take pity on the eleven year old. However this was James Sirius Potter, a boy Neville had been seeing for the past ten years. The Professor simply shook his head and went back to his book. James sighed again. "I'm really sorry Professor. I swear I wasn't trying to steal anything. It was just a stupid bet I had with Fred and Roxanne."

"Well then you shouldn't have got caught." Neville said indifferently not taking his eyes off the book and put his reading glasses back on. James sighed and turned back to his paper. He brought his pen to the paper again but let out a deep sigh and looked at Neville. "Professor can't you forgive me just this once?" He asked. At this Neville removed his reading glasses again and looked at him.

"You know I can't, James. The other professors- they think I am too soft on you because I know your parents. And who can blame them?" He shrugged. "This is just your very first year at Hogwarts and you have already been caught at least half a dozen times on different complains by different professors. Yet, this is your first punishment. Am I right?" He fixed his gaze on the dark haired boy who simply nodded looking down. "It's time I stopped acting as your family friend and started acting like the head of the Gryffindor house. In fact, even now I am being easy on you. If it had been your cousins Fred and Roxanne, I wouldn't have given them a punishment less than tilling the ground and planting the mandrakes."

James knew he was right. Professor Longbottom had the reputation of being too soft on students and especially Gryffindors. Although this made him the most likable professor at school, the students usually took him for granted. They never did any assignments or tasks that he gave out or took his threats seriously. James merely went back to his lines and continued writing 'I will not break into the Potion master's vault' again and again.

The clock on the wall ticked slowly and the room became silent again. The occasional sounds of page turning and pen scratching against the paper resumed. It was then that a feeble howl was heard from outside the window and footsteps approached the cabin. A loud knock followed on the door. Neville looked at James and then at the door. He closed his book, removed his reading glasses and got up to open the door. James followed his movements keenly.

Neville turned the doorknob and opened the door. Standing outside was a huge bearded man, his hair and beard graying at sides. His cheeks were pink, probably due to walking a lot and he was wearing the boots he usually wore to go into the forest. Beside him was his favorite big black dog. The dog looked in and seeing James let out a bark happily expecting the boy to come out and rub his head like he always did. "Quiet, Fang." The bearded man said looking at the dog and turned to Neville. "Neville, I need you to come with me right now." He said breathlessly.

Neville took a minute to look at him and then turned to look at James. "Not now Hagrid. I'm looking over Mr. Potter's detention." Hagrid sighed and looked in. "Oh for Merlin's sake. Is this about Slughorn's complaint again?" He said frowning. Neville shrugged. "I have to punish my students Hagrid."

Hagrid let out a sigh of frustration and shoved Neville aside with his hand. He stepped inside the cabin and looked at James. "Detention's over James. Run along to your dorm now." He said and it was enough for the young boy to get his face lightened up with joy. "But Hagrid…" Neville protested and Hagrid turned to him. "Look, you can punish the boy later. I don't care. I have a much more serious thing I need you to attend to right now." Neville met his gaze and considered for a minute. James looked at the two expectantly. After a while, Neville admitted defeat and turned to James. "Fine, go now but I need you tomorrow to complete the remaining 40 minutes of your detention." James smiled happily and grabbed his bag. "Thank you, professor." He said and walked out of the cabin.

James quickly strode over to the castle, the cool breeze hitting his face. Suddenly he stopped in his tracks. What was he thinking? Hagrid just came to meet Neville for something serious at this time of the night and he was walking away? James laughed at himself. He knelt down on the ground and unzipped his bag. He pulled out his father's invisibility cloak and grinned looking down on it. He had seen the invisibility cloak in his father's closet a couple of years ago. The night before he left for Hogwarts, he had managed to sneak it out.

He strapped his bag back on his shoulders and then covered himself with the cloak. Turning around, he noiselessly made his way back to the Greenhouses. As he reached there, he saw Neville locking the cabin and put on a warm blazer as Hagrid and Fang waited outside to come. "Hurry up already!" Hagrid said impatiently.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Neville said stepping down from the cabin. He then walked alongside Hagrid. James followed them quietly listening to their conversation.

"A big, green thing you say?" Neville said looking at Hagrid as he slipped his hands into pockets of his blazer.

"Yes." Hagrid replied. "At first I thought it was a giant but he didn't seem to recognize me when I went ahead. It was very aggressive and violent."

"But why was it attacking the centaurs?" Neville asked raising his eyebrows. He couldn't help but get curious of this sudden appearance of the green monster in the forbidden forest.

"Judging by the centaurs, I expect they attacked it first." Hagrid shrugged. "Anyway, when I reach there, this thing has two centaurs in each hand held by their hooves and he was banging them together. If I hadn't cast a stunning spell, it would have killed the poor creatures."

"Did it work? The stunning spell" Neville asked even more curious. Hagrid shook his head.

"It didn't knock it out like I expected. It just took the creature by surprise and it let go of the centaurs."

"And then what happened?"

"I yelled at the centaurs to run away and they did. The creature then charged at me." Hagrid said a shiver passing down his spine as he thought of the moment. Neville's complete attention was now fixed on him and so was James'. "I know how to tame a beast, any beast." Hagrid said smiling proudly. "But I couldn't tame him. Although I did manage to calm him down. He walked up to me and I stared back into his eyes hiding my fear inside but at the same time with an expression of surrender."

"What did he do?" Neville said, fascinated.

"He turned around and walked deeper into the forest leaving me alone. Fang and I followed him. Somewhere around the black lake, we saw him trip and fall down from a distance. Seeing no signs of him getting up, we went over to the spot." The three reached Hagrid's hut as his narration continued. Hagrid unlocked the door of his hut and walked in, Neville and Fang following him. Neville closed the door shut behind him.

James groaned as he couldn't enter the hut. He walked over to the window and peeked in. He stacked a couple of rocks near the window and stood up on it to get a clear view of what was going on inside. He saw Hagrid standing near his bed and Neville sitting down on a chair beside the bed. Fang stood near the bed wagging his tail excited.

"So, do you know him?" Hagrid asked looking at Neville. Neville merely shook his head looking at the man lying down on Hagrid's bed. "Was he completely naked?" Neville asked seeing the man's upper body was exposed.

"Oh no… He was wearing pants." Hagrid proceeded to remove the rug that covered him to reveal the man's ragged pants. A bulge in his pocket indicated a wallet. Neville slowly slipped his hand into the pocket and pulled out the wallet.

"The bloke's a muggle doctor." Neville said opening the wallet. "American dollars- which means he is probably American." He then pulled out a card from the wallet. "The address where he worked last- Calcutta, India." He showed the wallet to Hagrid and placed it on a table nearby. The man lying on the bed stirred slightly in his sleep. "My best bet here is some prankster cast an engorgio spell on him."

"That doesn't explain why he was green or crazy or why my stunning spell didn't work on him." Hagrid said. Neville shrugged. "My knowledge is limited in this." He said and looked at him. "But that's not important here. The man is a muggle. He can't stay here." Neville looked down at the man again. "What do you want me to do?" Hagrid asked. Neville gave a moment's thought. "Why don't I wait here while you go get McGonagall? She would know what to do." He said and Hagrid nodded approvingly. Leaving the two alone, Hagrid walked out of the hut. James turned to watch the half giant walk slowly and disappear into the castle. He then turned his gaze inside to his professor and the unconscious man.

Neville slowly got up and paced the room waiting for Hagrid and McGonagall to return. "Must be some kind of a transfiguration spell." He muttered to himself as he paced. James giggled slightly seeing his professor talk to himself. To any onlooker, Neville definitely did appear crazy at this point. James intently watched him and the man.

Minutes passed by again. He was now beginning to get bored. He cocked his head to the left to see two figures emerge out of the castle. He didn't have any difficulty telling the tall, lanky old figure walking besides Hagrid. Minerva McGonagall, their headmistress. He crouched a little even though he had the invisibility cloak around him. Just then he heard someone cough inside the room. He quickly turned his head again to look at his professor but it wasn't he who was coughing. It was the other man and Neville had rushed to his side and taken the seat beside him. The man coughed a little more and slowly proceeded to open his eyes. He stirred slightly and pulled the rug that lay on his body around him tightly to shield himself from the cold. He slowly sat up a little to look around.

"Dr. Banner, are you alright?" Neville said looking at the man. He looked back curiously at Neville, obviously surprised the man knew his name. Neville understood and he at once reached for his wallet and handed it back to him. "I er… looked through your wallet to see who you are. It was not very appropriate. Sorry for that." He said nervously. Bruce simply took his wallet and pushed it into his pocket. He looked around again and for a brief second paused to look out through the window. James stiffened a little. Bruce's gaze was almost directly into James' eyes and again he forgot for a second that he was wearing the cloak.

"Would you like some water?" Neville asked after a while of silence. Bruce slowly turned to look at him and nodded. Neville at once got up and walked to the kitchen counter. He filled one of Hagrid's crude tumblers with water and handed it to Bruce.

Suddenly the door opened and McGonagall and Hagrid walked in. James was startled although he had seen them walking towards the hut. McGonagall quickly scanned the room while Hagrid's gaze was fixed on Bruce. "When did he wake up?" He asked Neville. "A few minutes back." Neville said turning to look at the couple. "Did he say something?" The old lady's voice was directed towards Neville. Neville simply shook his head.

"Dr. Banner… Are you alright?" Neville asked turning to the man. McGonagall proceeded to sit down too pulling a chair. She looked at the man waiting for him to reply.

Bruce keenly studied the trio, the clothes they wore and their accents. He took a while to reply. "Where am I?" He asked. "H-How did I get here?"

Neville wanted to answer him but the headmistress stopped him. She turned to Bruce. "We can't tell you where you are. However, I promise I will tell you the answers you need if you tell us how you ended up here in the forest." Bruce turned to McGonagall raising his eyebrows in surprise. "Forest?" He repeated.

"That's where I found you." Hagrid replied and Bruce turned to look at him. "And you weren't exactly what you are now." Bruce gulped slightly. So these people had seen the other guy.

"Dr. Banner, do you remember who or what transformed you into that form?" Neville asked.

"What do you mean 'who or what'?" Bruce said turning to look at him. So they didn't know the whole story. If they did, they would know by now that it wasn't any person or thing that turned him that way. It was he himself.

"Well something must have happened to change you into that green thing that almost killed Hagrid and two centaurs." Neville shrugged.

"Centaurs?" Bruce asked at once cringing his face in surprise. Who were these people? "Please tell me who you are. You know everything about me from the wallet. It's only fair." He requested looking at all the three.

McGonagall looked at Neville and Hagrid. She knew there was no way around this. They had to tell this man everything. "Professor Longbottom, please escort Dr. Banner to my chambers." She then turned to Bruce. "I'll explain everything to you up there." She said and looked at Hagrid. She nodded briefly which was more than enough for him to know what she meant- not a word of this to anyone. James quietly followed Bruce, Neville and McGonagall as they made their way into the castle. He knew following them into the headmistress' chambers would be foolish and he made his way to the Gryffindor dorm.

Around six hours and a lot of mutual explanations later, Neville and Bruce walked up to 'The Three Broomsticks' and knocked on the door. A blonde woman opened the door after a few seconds. She sleepily rubbed her eyes and looked at the two men. "Neville? What are you doing here this early?" She asked and Neville smiled at her. "Honey, this is Dr. Banner. He will be staying here for a week. Dr. Banner, this is my lovely wife and the innkeeper Hannah Longbottom." He said and proceeded to kiss his wife. She kissed him back and then smiled at Bruce. "Do come in Dr. Banner." The three stepped into the house. "The rooms are all sort of full." Hannah said biting her lip.

"Oh no… Dr. Banner will stay here in the house not at the inn." Neville said at once.

"In our home?" Hannah raised her eyebrows.

"That's right. He's a special guest of Professor McGonagall. Don't worry, like I said, he'll be here only until next week. He'll come with me and the girls when we go to London."

Bruce raised his eyebrows at the mention of 'girls'. His unasked question was answered when a couple of little girls ran in from another room rubbing their eyes too. The older one looked nine at the most and the younger one was around six. "Dr. Banner, these are my daughters- Alice and Augusta." Neville smiled as he picked up little Augusta. She squirmed a little in his hands. "Daddy, put me down. I am not a little girl." She said and Neville placed her on the ground. "Oh yeah? Then let me see if you can outrun me…" He grinned naughtily and lunged towards the girls. The girls giggled loudly and ran letting their father chase them.

Bruce smiled seeing Neville play with his daughters. "Tea?" He turned on hearing Hannah's voice. "Thanks." He said taking the cup from her hand. "I am really sorry to bother you like this Mrs. Longbottom. This wasn't my intention at all but the headmistress insisted that I should stay with your husband." He said.

"Oh it's not a bother." Hannah smiled. "I was just taken by surprise, that's all. We have house guests all the time." She said and turned to go back into the kitchen. "Please feel welcome." She said as she walked away.

"Now go brush your teeth and have your cereal." Neville said finally pushing the girls back to their room. He then walked over to Bruce. "Your daughters are really adorable." He commented.

"Thanks." Neville smiled happily.

"So once the headmistress talked to this Minister of Magic about what to do with me… What do you think will happen?" Bruce said looking at him.

"I don't know. Depends on how the talk goes." Neville shrugged.

"If they decide I have seen and heard too much, will they kill me?" Bruce asked amused by his own question.

"What? No no… We are not savages Dr. Banner." Neville smiled. "They'll probably obliviate you."

"Obliviate me?" Bruce raised his brow, not sure he liked the sound of that.

Neville nodded and continued, "They'll modify your memory so that you don't remember me or Hagrid or the Hogwarts castle and they'll let you go your way." Bruce nodded. He liked that. No harm done- like he always wanted. Although he doubted any magical spell would produce desired effect on his body with the other guy present in him.

"Why are you going to London next week?" He asked after a while.

"Oh I forgot to tell you. The term gets over next week and students go home. I'm going too. My gran lives in the city and she loves to spend time with the girls." Neville smiled.

Bruce nodded again.

((Next in Chapter 2: How would Agent Clint Barton react when he sees his eldest son's Hogwarts acceptance letter?))


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Marvel or Harry Potter characters. I do not gain anything from the following story except quenching my own fanboy thirst.**

I am sorry for the delay in publishing of the second chapter. I didn't exactly do what I said at the end of the first chapter but I figured I should wait before introducing Hawkeye and his son into the story. They'll come eventually but meanwhile, we take a peek at the Avengers building this time. I appreciate all the reviews I got last time and I look forward to more. So enjoy and don't forget to review. J

 ** _Chapter 2:_**

"Give it to me Auggie!" The nine year old almost pleaded although her voice had the tinge of anger in it as she chased her sister. "Auggie, I said give it to me now or you'll be in big trouble." Alice tried to take out the tone which when came from her mother almost always managed to scare Augusta but the six year old was smarter than that. "Finders keepers, losers weepers." She said as she quickened her pace and laughed running into the guest bedroom.

The guest bedroom was usually empty. It was the room where they let Neville's grandmother or Hannah's parents stay whenever they visited Hogsmeade. The girls sometimes played there and some nights Neville used it as a study. However, this morning it was not empty.

Augusta turned around to look at her annoyed sister and stuck out her tongue. She then giggled and turned around but tripped and fell down. The doll she was holding flew out of her hand and fell a few feet away. Alice ran to pick up the doll first. Of course, her dad would have preferred her to help her little sister first but Alice was currently angry at her for taking her doll.

"This is mine. I asked daddy to buy it for me the last time we went to Diagon Alley." Alice snapped at her sister who was already down on the ground, fallen on her chest. Augusta began to tear up a little and held out her little hand to her sister. "I fell down Allie. Help me up please?" She said in the sweet, innocent angelic voice of hers.

"No!" Alice said, her face a dark red with anger.

"But I just wanted you to share it with me." Augusta said sobbing once. Alice rolled her eyes and frowning, walked out of the room.

Bruce Banner was watching the exchange sitting on the bed in the corner. The girls had apparently not noticed him since it was usually empty. As the older girl left, Bruce stood up and walked to Augusta. He picked up the little girl and helped her sit up. "Hey." He smiled at her and dusted some dirt from her clothes. "What happened?" He asked smiling at the little one.

"I fell down and Allie was mean to me." She said sniffling and looked down. "I'm sorry Augusta." Bruce said sitting down on the floor too beside her and gently patted her shoulder. "Are you hurt?"

The brown haired girl shrugged a little wiping her nose. "I don't know." She muttered.

"Are you upset that your sister wouldn't share her doll with you?"

She nodded a little and looked down fiddling with the hem of her dress.

"Did you try asking her nicely?" Bruce said and Augusta thought for a moment before shaking her head. "Well maybe if you had done that first, she would have given you the doll right?" He asked smiling at the little girl who looked up into his eyes and shrugged again. "Try it out then. Go apologize to her first for taking the doll without asking her and then ask her nicely if you can play with it."

As Augusta mulled over his suggestion, they heard someone walk into the bedroom and both of them turned their attention towards the door.

"Good morning Dr. Banner." Hannah said as she stepped in to see him sitting on the floor with Augusta beside him. "Hey Hannah." Bruce said with a smile.

"Oh no! Did she wake you up?" Hannah said frowning as she walked to Augusta.

"No no… I was up." Bruce said and smiled at her. "Augusta had a little tussle with her sister and I was telling her how to fix it." He smiled at the little girl and helped her stand up. "Thank you Dr. Banner." She said before running away again to find her sister.

Bruce smiled as he watched her and stood up. "Oh you didn't have to bring me breakfast in bed, Mrs. Longbottom." He said looking at the tray with a teakettle and a cup at his bedside.

"Oh that's just tea. Breakfast is of course downstairs." Hannah said smiling at him. "If you want it brought upstairs, I can…" She began but was cut off by Bruce. "Oh, no… I'll be down in a few minutes."

A couple of hours later, after having promised Hannah that he wouldn't wander off too far, Bruce was out looking around the various magical stores of Hogsmeade. Although he was fascinated by all of it, he wasn't exactly surprised that a magical community had existed all this while without anyone else knowing. He wondered if S.H.I.E.L.D. had any idea of these wizards and witches walking right amongst them.

* * *

"Are you sure your cousins are the people to tell it to?" Lorcan Scammander asked as he strode, trying to keep pace with an excited James Potter. James was always seeking out adventure and Lorcan, although a little scared tried to go along with him. After all, James was his best friend.

"Yes." James merely said as they stepped outside the school gates and headed to the village. "Lorc, I saw the bloke. He spoke with an American accent and Hagrid said he was something else when they found him."

"So maybe he transformed himself. What's the big deal?" Lorcan asked confused.

"The big deal is that he's a muggle Lorc!" James repeated again. For some reason, Lorcan simply refused to believe this. He however kept following his friend.

James and Lorcan walked out into the village and they were strutting through the streets looking for Fred and Roxanne, James' cousins. Suddenly as they walked past the door of a store, a figure came out at the same time and the boys bumped into him and the three of them fell on the floor.

Lorcan gasped as some sweets fell out of a paper bag that Bruce had in his bag. "I'm so sorry sir. That was our fault." He said as he began collecting the sweets and putting them back in the bag. James helped him too and as he put the last candy in the bag looked at the man as he said "Why do you have so much candy anyway?" and stopped as he looked at the man's face.

Bruce smiled at the boys and helped them up. "Oh it's for my friends' daughters." He said and looked at the pair of them. "And I am sorry too. I should have looked where I was going. Good day." He said and walked on.

As the grown man walked away, James nudged Lorcan who was still dusting himself. "That's the man I told you about. He's the muggle." Lorcan stopped dusting himself and looked up at the man walking away.

"What do you want to do?" He asked after a while and James shrugged. "Follow him, I guess."

Lorcan raised his brow and chuckled. "And then what? Is there a point?"

James nodded. "Don't you want to know how a muggle got into the Forbidden forest?"

"That's the kind of stuff McGonagall should be worried about and she probably is taking care of it." Lorcan said as he followed James, who was already following Bruce. "This is a bad idea." He whispered as they turned a deserted street. Suddenly, Lorcan grabbed James' arm and pulled him back. He put his hand into James' jacket and pulled out the invisibility cloak pulling it over them.

"What the…" James started but his mouth was covered by Lorcan's hand in an instant and he pointed out to a couple of hooded figures at a distance. James looked at them and slowly moved away Lorcan's hand. "Who are they?" He whispered.

The hooded figures were watching Bruce. They were crouched behind a tree and to any onlooker who wasn't thorough, they would be a couple of the tree's roots. Suddenly James was thankful that Lorcan had the key Hufflepuff quality- great finding.

"We should warn him." Lorcan whispered to James, who shook his head. "If we walk through the snow, they'll see our footprints." He whispered back. "Let's see what their move is."

Hogsmeade wasn't a particularly crowded village and this street, even more so. The far end stores of the street were almost empty. If the hooded men wanted to do something to Bruce, now would be the opportunity. One of them pulled out a wand and pointed it straight at him. James and Lorcan saw this and pulled out their own wands too. They didn't know many spells but they wouldn't hesitate to cause a distraction so they could get Bruce under the cloak too. As the boys raised their wands to cast a spell, the second hooded figure smacked the first one on his head. James and Lorcan lowered their wands raising their brows and watched curiously as the two seemed to have some sort of an argument and then they were gone. They disapparated.

* * *

"Next Friday then?" Colonel James Rhodes said as he leaned back against another chair and looked at the woman in front of him. She turned a second to glare at him and turned back to the agent in the bed. "No." She said in the same monotonous fashion.

"Oh come on, Helen. Would it kill you to go out with me?" Rhodey said walking up to Helen Cho.

"This is why I hate to come down here." Helen said as she covered her mouth with the surgical mask. "It's a fractured limb. Why do you need that?" James said with a chuckle.

Just then the glass doors of the room opened and a blonde, muscular figure walked in. The Upstate New York Avengers facility was functioning as usual. The medical wing was busier than usual owing to the presence of Helen Cho who had come after a long time.

"Dr. Cho." Steve Rogers said politely as he entered.

"Captain." She acknowledged with a small nod and James stood up straight.

"What's Rhodes doing here? Pestering you for another date?" He said with a grin and looked at James. Helen glared at him too and turned to Steve. "Its not a problem Captain. I have worked under harder circumstances." She said and looked at the computer screen.

"Rhodes, training." Steve said looking at James. He raised his brow and shrugged. "I am a Colonel. Just because I am an Avenger now doesn't mean I need training." He said.

Steve frowned for a second. "You can never be too prepared Rhodes." He said and James rolled his eyes. "Besides, this is not for you or me. It's for Wanda." He said and both Helen and James' eyes lit up at this.

"She finally agreed to do it?" Helen asked taking down her surgical mask. Steve nodded a little. "How has she been?"

"She was a wreck until last week." James sighed and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Pietro's death didn't come easy on her. She didn't speak to anyone, she merely ate…" He sighed again and looked at Steve. "She did say she was ready right?"

Steve nodded a little. "We're using the simulator. It'll be solo training for her today but I want the whole team to be there and watch her. We're going to be a team so we need to know what the other members can and cannot do." He said and turned to Helen. "You are welcome to come watch if you want."

Helen smiled at Steve. "Thank you Captain, but I need to be back in Seoul by tonight so I probably will leave as soon as I can." She said. Steve smiled back and nodded. "Good. I'll see you later then." He said and walked out.

James smiled at her flirtatiously. "So next time then." He said before walking out following Steve.

"Why do you do that?" Steve asked as James caught up.

"Do what?" James said shrugging.

"You're Colonel James Rhodes, commanding and authoritative always but when you're around her, you turn into this desperate college guy trying to get a date…" He sighed. "You turn into Tony when you're around her."

"No I don't. I am just showing interest in her and trying to woo her." James said shaking his head.

"If I didn't know better, I would say she finds it desperate."

"This from the man who hasn't had a date in 70 years?" James smirked and Steve fell silent at that. They quietly walked on till they reached the simulated training room. Steve looked to the right and saw Vision and Sam sitting in chairs. He motioned James to join them. "Isn't she here yet?" He asked.

"Natasha's gone to fetch her." Sam replied as James sat down near him. "So how goes the recruitment?" James asked.

"Not bad." He shrugged. "Cap asked me to come in today to watch Maximoff train so nothing today." He finished his sentence as Natasha Romanoff walked in with Wanda Maximoff.

"Are you ready?" Steve asked Wanda as she came in and she looked at him and nodded a little. "Good." Steve said and motioned Natasha to go sit down with the other three. He then turned to her. "Okay Wanda. Our research division looked up your power and they got no idea how they work. The primary analysis is that they coordinate with your neural system." He said and walked to the chair and switched on the simulator. "Now all the enemies you see are holographic projections so you're not really hurting anyone. Just show us what you can do and how you do it so we know how to work around you." He said and sat down as a glass wall separated Wanda from the other five.

The projection turned on the battle of New York was projected on the room. The Chitauri were pouring in from the portal on top and Wanda looked around. She took a second to understand what was going on and she inhaled deeply. She pulled back and started shooting at Chitauri soldiers with her red magic, breaking some in two, and puncturing the chest of others. It went on for a while as the other five watched her, studying her.

Wanda let out a deep breath as the projection was turned off. The glass wall was taken off and her team walked towards her, smiling with approving expressions. She smiled for a moment before her expression turned back into one of sadness. "I need some time alone." She said and Steve placed a hand on her shoulder. "Sure. Take the rest of the day off. That was some good progress you showed there." He said with a smile and as Wanda exited, he signaled Vision to take care of her. He nodded and followed her.

"That wasn't half bad." Natasha commented as she watched Wanda and Vision leave.

"I know. In fact, she's not the team member I am most concerned about anymore." Steve said and turned to Natasha. She looked at him for a second and rolled her eyes as she turned away and started walking out. "Please don't tell me this is about Bruce again." She said as Steve followed her.

"Why not?" He shrugged. "It's obvious that you miss him and you wonder why he hasn't tried to contact us yet. You just are doing a great job covering it up." Steve said walking along with her.

"Don't you wonder why he hasn't contacted us?" Natasha asked looking at him.

"Of course I do. He's our team member."

"So do I. What makes you think I am extra-concerned?" She said stopping and looked at him.

Steve shrugged slightly. "I am sorry. If you need to talk about it…"

Natasha smiled and ruffled Steve's hair before she turned around and walked away.

* * *

Bruce sat in front of the fireplace staring into the burning coal. He held a bottle of half empty beer in his hand and the droplets forming on its surface were drying up fast owing to the heat of the fire. Just then, he heard the excited sounds of the girls at their father's arrival.

Neville didn't always come back after work. He mostly slept at the castle and spent only the weekends with Hannah, Alice and Augusta. Seeing him back at the inn on a weekday was a celebration for the girls.

"Daddy, read us a bedtime story." Augusta said clinging to his leg and looking up at him.

"Hush dear. Daddy hasn't had his dinner yet." Hannah said trying to pull her away.

"Oh no. I had it already." Neville said with an apologetic grin. "I am sorry dear. I figured you weren't expecting me so I ate at the castle before coming home." He shrugged a little.

"Then read us the story." Alice said getting excited and Neville laughed. He picked up Augusta and let Alice grab his finger as he walked to the girls' bedroom with them.

About half an hour later, Neville yawned and walked out. He walked to the fireplace and poked it to make it hotter. He sat down beside Bruce and smiled at him as he grabbed another beer and sipped it.

"Your family is absolutely lovely." Bruce said to Neville, smiling a little.

"Thanks a lot Dr. Banner." He said smiling back at him wider. "They're all I have." He shrugged. "I just try to make my three girls happy." Neville said and turned to Hannah, grinning at her. Hannah grinned back and put her arms around his shoulder and kissed him on the cheek. "Good night honey." She said before walking to their bedroom.

Bruce smiled and watched Hannah as she walked away and he took another sip. "So what's the story with you two?" He asked Neville. "How did you two meet?"

"We were the same year in school." Neville said. "But we never really talked to each other at school. A few years after school, we met back here when we were both considered for the position I am working in now." He smiled to himself. "It was a heavy competition. Then I learned that her father owns this inn and I suggested her to run the inn and I'll take the job. She refused of course." He chuckled and took another sip of the beer. "Then, I asked her what she wanted to step aside and let me have the job and she jokingly said a date." He smiled at Bruce.

Bruce laughed a little and shook his head as he took another sip. "So then once you started dating, she gave up?" He asked looking at Neville curiously.

"Oh no." Neville shook his head. "We didn't start dating at that. We both kept preparing and working hard for the position and finally I got it. I felt sorry for her at first but then I asked her out. But I didn't do it out of pity." He smiled. "That's when I realized I actually liked her."

Bruce nodded, amused as he listened. Neville continued. "Of course she refused at first because she thought I was doing it out of pity but then I convinced her…" He sighed. "And here we are." He shrugged and took another sip of his beer. They kept silent for a while before Neville spoke again, "What about you Doctor?" He asked with a smile. "Is there someone?"

Bruce let out a sigh before nodding slightly. "Sort of…" He said and looked at Neville. "We separated." He said after thinking for a while.

"You broke up?"

Bruce looked into the fire, sighing. The red areas of the coal reminded him of her red hair and he opened his mouth to reply before they heard a bang and people screaming. Both Neville and Bruce turned to the window and they ran towards it to look out.

Neville's eyes widened with horror at the sight that he saw. Flashes of light indicating various curses and hexes were coming from the windows of other houses and stores. Men and women wearing mask and hats were coming out of the houses with bags of money on their shoulder.

"Seems like some sort of armed robbery." Bruce commented but Neville frowned. "We haven't had one of these in years." Just then a bang was heard from the girls' bedroom and screams of Alice and Augusta could be heard to the living room.

"Allie! Auggie!" Neville yelled as he bolted for the room but the door was thrown open before he could reach it. A man similar to the robbers on the street appeared. He was wearing a black mask and a hat in such a way that no feature of his was recognizable. He held a struggling Augusta in his hand and pressed his wand to her jaw. Alice followed him and started beating up his thighs with her little fists screaming and yelling "Let go of my sister!" repeatedly as she did so.

If Neville wasn't panicking, he would be proud of his older daughter for not running away to safety at the first chance she got and sticking and fighting for her sister. Unfortunately, the nine year old's fists couldn't do much damage to the six foot tall, fat man who had a wand pressed to the jaw of his six year old. "Empty your safe, all your cash and put it in a corner…" The man said in a gruff voice.

"Alright! Just don't hurt my daughter." Neville said raising his hands slightly. "We'll give you what you want. Please… Allie! Get back here." He said to his older daughter. Hannah who had just come down the stairs gasped seeing the scene and repeated the same to the nine year old. Alice however kept punching him and the fat man groaned. "Get away!" He yelled and pushed Alice away with his foot. She fell back and hit her head on the ground and groaned.

"Allie!" Neville yelled and ran to her. The man got in front of him and pressed the wand harder into Augusta's jaw. "Money. Now." He repeated. Neville frowned deeply and his eyes turned blood red with anger. With a quick movement and disregarding any risk, he gave a sharp kick on the masked intruder's elbow. The sudden movement made his wand slip away from the little girl's jaw and seeing his chance, Neville pounced on him. Neville heaved with all his might to unwrap his arm from around Augusta's waist and as soon as Augusta was free, she ran to Alice to help up her sister. Neville rolled around on the floor with the man for a while and rolled a few metres away. Bruce and a Hannah who was staring in horror ran towards the girls to pull them away to safety.

Neville forced the hands of the man to the sides and with great difficulty and attempted to pin them on the floor. The struggle continued for a few moments before the man let out a curse from his wand. The purple colored hex flew off the tip of his wand and went straight for the point where Hannah and Bruce were trying to revive Alice. Bruce acted on impulse and quickly jumped in front of them and took the spell on his chest.

At the events that followed, the man on the floor and Neville stopped their struggle and turned to look at Bruce, their eyes widening in horror at what they saw. Hannah grabbed the girls and walked to a corner, her eyes just as wide as Neville's as the sound of ripping fabric filled her ears. Soon, the low hanging chandelier crashed and fell on the ground as the monster stared around at everyone.

(To be continued in Chapter 3, which hopefully I'll publish sooner than I did this. Once again, thank you for reading and please review.)


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